At the time of European settlement, a large proportion of the landscapes around the chosen site of Melbourne comprised permanent wetlands. Initially avoided as places of little economic value or, worse, the sources of diseases, over succeeding decades these swampy areas came to be considered...

The site of European settlement in the Port Phillip region was a place of many swamps. For the Indigenous population these features were essential to their way of life, for the wide diversity of foodstuffs and raw materials they provided. They were the main support...